1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printing device and a printing method.
2. Related Art
Printing devices are known in which a printing is performed by the use of liquid (for example, ultraviolet ink) which is cured due to irradiation of light (a type of electromagnetic waves, for example ultraviolet rays). In such a printing device, ink from the nozzles of a head is ejected on a medium and then light is irradiated to the dots formed on the medium. In this way, since the dots are cured to be fixed to the medium, a good printing can be performed on a medium in which it is difficult to absorb liquid (for example, refer to JP-A-2000-158793).
In the above-described printing device, there has been proposed a method for performing two-step curing. For example, light with lower irradiation energy is irradiated immediately after forming the dots, thereby suppressing bleeding between inks or dot spread (temporary curing). Thereafter, light with higher irradiation energy is irradiated to the temporarily cured dots. Thereby, the dots are completely cured (main curing).
However, in the printing device, in the case where a clear ink is used, if the clear ink is always cured under the same conditions, there is a problem in that image quality may be deteriorated.